Squire Patton Boggs has significantly expanded its Middle East presence with the addition of a market-leading team of practitioners to its Dubai office. Three partners have joined from Winston & Strawn’s Dubai office – Campbell Steedman, formerly Winston & Strawn’s Middle East Managing Partner, and corporate partner Christopher Skipper have both joined Squire Patton Boggs’ Corporate Practice; and Shibeer Ahmed, formerly Head of the Middle East Finance Practice at Winston & Strawn, joins the firm’s Financial Services Practice. They will be followed by a team of associates.
“Our presence in the Middle East is a critical element of our global practice, and we are committed to strategic growth to support our many clients doing business across the region,” said Steve Mahon, Squire Patton Boggs’ Global Managing Partner for Clients & Strategy. “Campbell, Chris, and Shibeer are leaders in their fields with sophisticated global practices, and we are excited to have them join us.”
“Campbell, Chris and Shibeer are a great fit for our firm. Each brings long-standing, deep regional experience and connections, along with sterling reputations in the market,” said Tom Wilson, Squire Patton Boggs’ Managing Partner for the UAE. “Their addition adds further depth to our corporate and financial services offerings and enhances our ability to perform sophisticated work for clients in the UAE and throughout the Middle East and Africa.”
Commenting on the team’s move to Squire Patton Boggs, Mr. Steedman said, “Squire Patton Boggs offers an exceptional regional and global footprint, together with a reputation for excellence and long-standing commitment to the Middle East that will take our practice to even greater heights. We have a busy team doing high quality work for great clients. We anticipate a smooth transition and expect to hit the ground running.”
About the Team:
Campbell Steedman has more than 30 years of experience advising clients on complex corporate finance transactions, cross-border M&A, joint ventures, privatizations, and restructurings in the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian sub-continent, and Central and Eastern Europe. He acts for major corporates and investors in telecommunications, oil and gas, natural resources, construction, healthcare, and hospitality and retail. He also has extensive experience in equity capital markets transactions in the stock exchanges in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. Mr. Steedman led the Winston & Strawn Dubai office since 2016. He also led the Middle East practice of another international law firm for more than a decade. He is recognized as a leading practitioner for Corporate/M&A in the Middle East in the Chambers Global directory where clients laud him as “very hands-on, a strong communicator with brilliant technical knowledge.”
Shibeer Ahmed is a leading practitioner in project finance, banking, and Islamic finance with over 28 years of experience across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia . He advises corporates, financial institutions, government entities, export credit agencies, and development finance organisations, on a wide range of complex and multi-sourced financings. He is also a leading Islamic finance practitioner advising on Islamic bank financings and corporate and sovereign Islamic capital markets issuances. His work extends across several sectors, with particular focus on infrastructure, energy, oil and gas, and petrochemicals. He is recognized by leading industry publications, including Chambers Global, Legal 500 and IFLR as a leading project finance, banking and Islamic finance practitioner.
Christopher Skipper is an experienced adviser on international M&A and private equity transactions, joint ventures, and corporate structuring throughout the Middle East. For more than a decade he has represented private companies and investors as well as government institutions in the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S. He has advised on transactions in sectors as varied as oil and gas, engineering and manufacturing, hospitality and leisure, and real estate. Mr. Skipper joined Winston & Strawn in 2017 after serving as senior in-house counsel at a Dubai-based investment firm. He also has extensive in-house experience advising the Dubai government on high-level corporate transactions. Since returning to private practice in 2017, Chris has also been recognized by industry publications Chambers Global and IFLR1000, UAE, where clients have praised his ability to produce “innovative ideas to reduce risk… excellent service and good workable solutions”.
Source: www.squirepattonboggs.com
